Different, not Deficient
Keeping the learning pace in the age of COVID-19.
May 2021
As the end-of-year traditions begin and this unique school year draws to a close, I can’t help but think back to last summer when I first joined Browning. In Zoom meeting after Zoom meeting, our leadership team tried to solve the puzzle of how to open school in the midst of a pandemic. Looking back, I must admit that I didn’t truly know if we would be able to pull it off. We made an early commitment to the plan of having grades K-5 in person every day, but I was never fully convinced that we wouldn’t all end up back in online learning after a few weeks. And yet here we are, having had very few cases of COVID-19, and many cases of joyful learning in our classrooms.
This year reminded me that what truly makes a school special is its people: engaged students, passionate teachers, and collaborative families. All the extra bells and whistles are great, but it’s the people that make a school great. Yes, this year was different in so many ways for all of us, but that does not mean this year was deficient. And in all of our classrooms, lots of great learning is happening.
At Browning, we always lean into the value of relational teaching as we know that strong relationships are the foundation upon which boys thrive as learners. In a year marked by distance and isolation for so many, being together at school each day became our greatest strength in an even more profound way. Teachers showed amazing resilience at building classroom communities, even while Zooming some boys into the classroom from home. In fact, as many of our online learners have returned in-person, it is amazing to see how seamlessly they re-enter the classroom environment. I have no doubt that this is because of the close connection they feel with their teachers and classmates, even though this connection was initially built through a screen.
“At Browning, we always lean into the value of relational teaching as we know that strong relationships are the foundation upon which boys thrive as learners.”
Now, as I read articles and hear constant news stories about learning loss and all the harm that fell upon children during this pandemic school year, I could not be more grateful and proud that we have had a full year of in-person learning in our Browning Lower School. I often remind parents and teachers that learning, education, and schooling are a long game. Nothing changes overnight, and that’s part of the beauty of watching a child progress from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade in schools such as ours. Our teachers are noting that the small classes and fewer transitions this year have actually allowed them to get through more curricula than in some previous years. Our assessments and observations show us that overall, the boys are thriving and meeting benchmarks in reading and math. Because of our commitment to in-person learning, our boys continue to love coming to school each day and are growing both academically and socially.
Of course we will continue to use traditional assessments to make sure our boys keep learning and reaching their full potential. For instance, in the fall we will give standardized tests to Grades 3 and above in order to make sure that both collectively and individually our students are where we would expect them to be. But less formally, if this year has shown us anything, it is that our strength is in our people, our being together as a community, and yes, in our relationships. Thank you, Browning, for an amazing first year.
